I'm considering getting a double sided game mat made out of the neoprene mouse pad material. What have been people's experiences with double sided mats instead of single sided?

Any cons related to these?

Pro is you get 2 mat patterns for cheaper than 2 individual mats.

The only real downside I could come up with is a durability issue. I'd like to have 2 double sided mats myself. One with sand/forest and another with snow/urban. Pretty much all normal terrains would be covered.

I haven't played with one, so this is not anecdotal experience. However, when I'm rolling or unrolling my mat and it's face down, it slides quite easily on my table's surface.

That is, of course, the point of the materials being used - the neoprene is supposed to grip the table to stay in place, and the cloth allows mini bases to be slid over it without catching.

I would have some concerns about the play surface shifting and possibly moving the units or terrain during gameplay if there were cloth on both sides.

You can get 4 felt ones from the fabric store for less than the cost of a single sided neoprene.

1 hour ago, TauntaunScout said:

You can get 4 felt ones from the fabric store for less than the cost of a single sided neoprene.

Further to this, some curtain material comes with a "rubberised" backing to better block light penetration.

I have a couple of tan coloured "mats" from such material (for playing desert-themed games.

One material was already patterned but the other are a uniform colour - but you could spray or sponge random splotches of other colours if you want visual "texture".

Both are big enough to cover a 6 by 4 table.

(this has reminded me I should pop into a haberdashery today and see what white, green and brown options are available)

Nice!

I have a few piece of felt that came in multi-color. It's like two shades of green fibers all randomly matted together, and another one that's orange and brown, another that's grey and black. Then I have a piece of plain white felt. They are variously sized too, so if I need to pack lighter I use certain colored mats on purpose.